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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. file — a document
  4. branch — a division
  5. capital — a city
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bulb — for light
  12. file — a tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. file — a line of people
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cell — in biology
  24. nail — on a finger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com